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December 2017 Newsletter
In This Issue
NRFSN Webinar and Video Archive is Growing!
The Northern Rockies Fire Science Network's (NRFSN) Webinar and Video Archive has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. We've been busy adding an array of recordings on topics including firefighter safety, traditional knowledge and fire, and the wildland urban interface. More than 560 webinars and videos are searchable by topic, ecosystem, and year, making it easy to find resources of interest.
In addition to NRFSN-hosted webinars, the archive includes recordings from the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF), other regional JFSP Fire Science Exchanges, and a variety of other sources. The archive is updated frequently, so do some exploring and check back often. |
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Fire Continuum Conference – Field Trips & Workshops
Once again, the Association for Fire Ecology and International Association of Wildland Fire will join forces to bring you an enlightening and innovative conference. This event will be held on the University campus in Missoula, Montana the week of May 21-24, 2018.
Wildland fire science and management are defined by continuums. The Fire Continuum Conference will cover topics from science and management activities that take place before a wildfire occurs through fire incidents and post-fire activities.
Check out the draft schedule, and field trip and workshop information, on the conference website: http://firecontinuumconference.org. The Call for Presentations is now open through February 6, 2018. Submit your presentation proposals here. Registration for the conference is also open - Register by January 31, 2018 for early bird rates.
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Hot Topics – A New NRFSN Website Feature
NRFSN is excited to introduce Hot Topics - a new feature of our website designed to be your point-of-entry into resources on currently important fire topics in the Northern Rockies. For each Hot Topic, you'll find links to upcoming events, past events, and recorded webinars. You'll also find a list of the most relevant research briefs, syntheses, reports, and journal articles related to each Hot Topic, all selected and catalogued by experts in that field.
Right now, you can check out Hot Topics pages on:
More Hot Topics are in the works, so check back often!
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National Cohesive Strategy Workshop – Registration Open
Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop in Reno, Nevada on March 26-29, 2018..
The 2nd National Cohesive Strategy Workshop theme is: Making a Difference – Building Capacity, Improving Preparedness, and Learning From Experience. The workshop aims to be innovative, constructive, and thought-provoking. It will bring together a wide range of parties interested and involved in the Cohesive Strategy.
The workshop will focus on building capacity in practitioners, improving preparedness to meet challenges, and providing opportunities to learn from both positive and negative past experiences. Attendees will be active participants in discussions as the workshop aims to blend science and experience into practices and processes.
Visit the workshop website for more information.
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A Note from Montana DNRC: 2017 Fire Season
This wildfire season brought unique challenges for Montana. Not only was the season exceptionally hot and dry over a long period of time, but the fires occurred across the whole state and the entire season. Typically fire season begins in eastern Montana and moves west by August, with the eastern portion decreasing in activity; this was not the case this year. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation was not the only agency affected by Montana's uncharacteristically severe wildfire conditions; our federal, state, county and local partners also felt the heat.
What was originally predicted to be a "below average fire season" for Montana turned into a challenging fire season due to a phenomenon some meteorologists are calling "flash droughts" which affected not only one but two areas in the state.
As early as June, drought conditions arrived in eastern Montana. Governor Bullock issued an executive order declaring a drought emergency for 18 counties and two Indian Reservations. This was followed by a drought disaster declaration less than a month later for 28 of the 56 counties and five of the seven Indian Reservations across Montana. Five days after the drought disaster declaration was issued, Governor Bullock declared a fire emergency for the state of Montana.
In July, the Lodgepole Complex in Garfield County, the second largest fire in Montana history, burned 270,743 acres, caused huge devastation to local landowners. The end of August also brought two large fires in southeast Montana; the Sartin Draw Fire, 93,344 acres and the Battle Complex 90,957 acres.
Fire suppression efforts in Montana continue to demonstrate the value of partnerships between our cooperators. This continued coordination with cooperators is what it takes to work through a wildfire season such as this one.
- Mike DeGrosky, Chief,
Fire & Aviation Management Bureau
View the full 2017 Wildfire Season Review here.
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Joint Fire Science Program FY18 Funding Update
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has released an update on their plans for FY18 research funding. Although a final FY18 appropriation has yet to occur, based on current information, JFSP has decided not to issue a primary Funding Opportunity Notice (FON) for FY18. JFSP still intends to issue a Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award FON for FY18 sometime in 2018. Potential GRIN topics are described in the July 2017 Notice of Intent (NOI). JFSP advises investigators not to invest substantial time or resources working on proposals until the GRIN FON and its associated topics are formally posted. Find more information here.
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